


Message Received

by buoyantsaturn



Series: auctober 2019 [8]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Companion Piece, M/M, my first ever f-bomb in a fic and i still just copypasted it from loading message
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2019-11-07 04:39:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: FROM: Unknown Number; youre a fucking nerd





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Loading Message...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12472584) by [solange_lol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/solange_lol/pseuds/solange_lol). 



> this is a companion fic to liz solange-lol's loading message...! im gonna do a few of these i think but they'll all just be chapters of this same fic so perhaps check back here sometimes  
> anyway enjoy!

Will had a paid internship at the hospital nearest the college’s campus. It gave him class credit alongside real-life experience with the added bonus of money for groceries. He spent a lot of his time organizing files and uploading paper charts to the hospital’s new digital system, and occasionally had the opportunity to learn alongside the hospital’s resident doctors all around the hospital.

Every so often he would be traded from one part of the hospital to the next, moving around from the psych ward to the nique to the surgical wing, and anywhere else he was needed. He was on his third day in the emergency room and he was just starting to get used to the chaos when he noticed a boy around his age wandering around like he was lost.

Technically, Will wasn’t allowed to talk to the patients, but none of the doctors or nurses seemed to notice the boy, so Will jumped up from his seat behind the nurse’s desk and made his way over. As he got closer, Will realized how much shorter the boy was than him, and he seemed even smaller in his oversized black clothes and the way he was hunched over slightly - he looked to be cradling one hand against his chest. 

Oh, and he was  _ gorgeous. _

“Hey, uh.” Will hesitated once he finally reached the boy. What did he think he was doing? He couldn’t actually  _ help _ anybody, not without some kind of medical license. “Can I...help you?”

The boy frowned up at him. “You’re not a doctor.”

“No, but you look kinda lost. What’s wrong?”

He glanced down at his hand - it looked swollen and bruised. “Oh, uh, I think I broke something.”

“I think you’re right,” Will replied. He wanted to reach out and examine the injury himself - from the little bit he could see, Will thought there might be scrapes along his knuckles, like he’d gotten into some kind of a fight. He held himself back instead, and tipped his head in the direction of the nurse’s desk. “Come with me. I’ll help you fill out the information forms.”

Will took a few steps backwards, slowly until he was sure that the other would follow, and then turned toward the desk. He went around and grabbed one of the prepared form clipboards, and handed it over with a pen. 

The boy took it with his left hand, but hesitated with his right hand still held against his chest. “I don’t think I can hold a pen.”

“Oh! Right, no, of course not.” Will held his hand out for the clipboard. “I could fill it out for you, if you’d like.”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.” He handed the clipboard back, and Will poised his hand to start writing.

“Name?”

“Nico di Angelo.”

Will repeated the name in his head.  _ Beautiful, _ just like him.

“Uh, can you spell that for me?”

 

Once the form had been completed, Will introduced Nico to one of the doctors to get his hand looked at, and returned to his work once Nico was out of his line of sight. He kept an eye out for the next hour, waiting for Nico to return and trying to think of something he could say to keep Nico around a little while longer. Would it be weird of him to ask out a patient, even if he wasn’t the one doing any of the treating?

Will had almost given up hope, thinking that he’d somehow missed seeing Nico leave, but then he saw a familiar black hoodie heading toward him. 

“Nico!” Will called out, hopping to his feet and rushing toward Nico before he could sneak out of the emergency room. 

“Huh?” Nico turned toward him. “Oh, uh, Will, right?”

Will grinned. “Yeah. How are your fingers?”

Nico raised his hand, showing off his white cast. “Broke three of them.”

Will had to hold himself back from commenting on the color - white was so  _ boring, _ and he seemed more like a black cast kind of guy. The white cast did give Will an idea, though… “How did you do it?”

Nico ducked his head in embarrassment. “Um. I was telling a story, and I kind of… slammed my fist into the wall.”

Will kept himself from laughing, but his smile remained. He reached into his pocket and took out a Sharpie with one hand, while he held the other out to take Nico’s. As he started to write on the cast, he said, “If it’s ever bothering you, feel free to call me.”

“Oh.” Nico glanced up at him with wide eyes and pink cheeks. “Sure.”

“I’ll see you around, Nico.”

 

When he got back to his dorm that night, Will had a text waiting for him.

_ FROM: Unknown Number; youre a fucking nerd _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> message received..........2!! ((this one's around chapter 15-beginning of 16 of loading message...))  
> enjoy!!

Will attached himself to his sleeping boyfriend’s back. “Nico,” he said into his ear, drawing out the name. “Wake up, babe.”

Nico groaned and tensed in Will’s arms, but otherwise didn’t appear any more awake.

“Nico,” Will tried again. “Nico, Nico, Nico--”

Suddenly, there was a pillow smacking him in the face. As Will pulled the pillow away and tossed it to the side, Nico burrowed under the blankets to hide and hopefully fall back asleep. Will ripped the blanket away and rolled Nico onto his back before laying himself down on top of his boyfriend. Nico groaned and shoved uselessly at Will for only a moment before giving up. 

Nico huffed and glared down at Will. “What.”

Will grinned from where his chin rested on Nico’s chest. “Good morning.”

“Nope. Try again in a couple hours.” Nico grabbed Will’s pillow and set it over his own face, but Will took it away.  _ “Will.” _

“It’s time to wake up,” Will told him.

_ “Why.” _

“We’re going ice skating!” 

“Who’s  _ we?” _

“Percy and Annabeth, Piper and Jason, and Leo and Calypso,” Will replied. “And us! C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

“Can’t we go later?”

“We have to get there early before the place gets crowded.” Will lifted himself up and leaned over his boyfriend with wide eyes and a pout. “Please? For me?”

Nico shoved at his chest.  _ “Fine.” _

 

They’d barely made it a full lap around the ice rink before Nico tripped and skinned his knee - Will had  _ told him _ not to wear those ripped-up jeans, but he never listened. Will helped Nico off the ice and left him on a bench as he went to get hot chocolate for the both of them. 

When he returned, he passed off one of the drinks to Nico before setting his own on the bench next to him, and knelt down to get a look at Nico’s knee. It would bruise for sure, but for now it was nothing more than a scrape. Will pressed a kiss to his knee, and sat down beside him. 

“Are you gonna survive?” Will asked teasingly. 

Nico rolled his eyes and leaned into Will’s side. “I guess.” 

“Would you be willing to head back out on the ice with me in a little while?” Nico frowned up at him, and so Will continued, “I’ll hold your hand the whole time, I promise.”

Nico huffed. “Fine. After hot chocolate.”

“Of course.”

Will slipped an arm around Nico’s waist and they relaxed as they watched their friends skate around the rink.

“I know you didn’t want to come,” Will started, “but you’re enjoying yourself, right?”

“I’m enjoying watching Leo make an ass of himself,” Nico answered.

_ I love you, _ Will wanted to say, surprising himself. He’d never said that to Nico, but should he? Was now really the right time? Besides, Nico wouldn’t want to have such a personal conversation in public.

Rather than responding, Will pressed a kiss to the side of Nico’s head. There would be better times for  _ I love you _ ’s later, he was sure. He downed the rest of his hot chocolate too quickly before he stood up and held his hand out to Nico. “C’mon, let’s get back out there.”

“I’m just going to fall again,” Nico argued.

“I’ll catch you.”

 

Not long after Nico’s third fall - he was pretty sure Leo had gotten a video of him falling at least once, and expected to see it in the group chat when he and Will got home - Will finally said they could stop and head home, though Nico was sure it was only because the others were leaving as well. 

They were relaxing on the couch, Nico with his leg elevated and an icepack on his knee thanks to Will, and Will beside him scrolling through texts on his phone. Nico was trying to read through BuzzFeed’s snapchat story, but Will kept snorting as he tried to hold in his laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Nico asked, but Will only pointed at his phone. 

Nico rolled his eyes and opened up the group chat to see that...Frank had walked in on Percy and Annabeth. Nico’s head fell back against the couch as he started to laugh, and kicked at Will with his good leg.

_ “God, _ could you imagine?” Nico cackled, and then gasped when a thought struck him. “Do you think it was  _ kinky?” _

“No, I don’t  _ want _ to think about that!” Will exclaimed.

“I’m gonna ask,” Nico replied, already typing out his next message. “It was  _ totally _ kinky.”

_ “Please _ stop talking,” Will begged, falling sideways until his head landed in Nico’s lap. “I refuse to think about that. I’m gonna think about dinner instead. Let’s get dinner.”

Nico set his phone aside and started to brush his fingers through Will’s hair. “Okay, sure, dinner,” Nico replied, his lingering laughter showing only in a bright smile. “What do you want?”

Will hummed. “Pizza.”

“You better order it, then. And put mushrooms on it this time!”

Will scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Ugh, you’re so gross,” he said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say that wasn’t  _ I love you. _ He sat up and pressed his lips to Nico’s before saying, “I’d better kiss you all I can before you get mushroom breath.” He leaned in for another kiss, but Nico pushed him back.

“At least order the pizza first.”

 

They watched a movie with dinner, and then another one afterwards, but Will couldn’t focus on it. He was too busy texting Lou Ellen, and then Annabeth, because apparently the two lived together and Will had just found out. Somewhere around the middle of the second movie, Will was asked a very difficult question.

_ FROM: Wisegirl; how is Nico anyway _

Will let his eyes drift over to his boyfriend. His legs were propped up on the coffee table and he was slouched down so far that his shoulders were the only part of him still on the couch. He, too, was staring down at his phone and paying no attention to the movie.  _ I love you  _ so much, Will thought.

_ TO: Wisegirl; i think i love him _

As they continued to text back and forth, Will felt his face flushing with embarrassment. How did they get from talking about Annabeth’s roommate to Nico and Will’s sex life? Sure, he appreciated the advice on how to tell Nico he loved him, but he didn’t  _ ask for it. _

After Annabeth said goodbye, all Will could think about was saying those three words. Did he just...blurt them out? Or should he ease into it? Was it not too soon in their relationship for it?

He wasted about two hours trying to figure it out, and hadn’t gotten anywhere by the time Nico was nudging him with his foot. 

“Hey, are you asleep?” Nico asked.

“No, just thinking,” Will told him, and stretched his arms over his head. Nico hummed, and Will turned to face him. “Not gonna ask what I’m thinking about?” 

Nico shrugged. “Figured you’d tell me if you wanted to.”

“I’m thinking about  _ you.” _  Will poked his foot into Nico's side, and Nico’s head snapped up. “About how...I love you.”

Nico scrambled to sit up. “You...what? You  _ love _ me?”

“Yeah, I do.” Will bit his lip as he awaited Nico’s response.

He jumped out of his seat and plopped himself down in Will’s lap as he pressed their lips together. “I love you, too, Will.”

Will couldn’t have stopped smiling if he wanted to. He didn’t want to. “Really?”

“Of course, stupid.” Nico kissed him again.

 

_ FROM: GhostKing; midnight psa _

_ FROM: GhostKing; my boyfriend is better than all you straights _

_ FROM: GhostKing; and i love him _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! again go read liz's loading message... and get all the juicy details that happen between all this stuff


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we got some early bits!! chapters 1+2 of loading message enjoy!!

_ FROM: Smolace; I’m coming over _

_ TO: Smolace; but! my! dorm! is! a! mess! _

_ FROM: Smolace; I’ll help you clean _

Nico went from panicking about cleaning to collapsing on his bed in two seconds, choosing instead to wait for Will to arrive. Sure, he should probably straighten - ha,  _ straight _ en - things up a little bit just to be polite, but it was too much effort. He barely had the energy to get up to answer the door when Will got there. Actually, no, he didn’t even have that much energy. When he heard a knock on the door, Nico didn’t even move, and instead simply shouted from where he laid on his bed. 

The door swung open only about halfway because the mess on the ground kept it from opening fully. “You weren’t kidding, huh?” Will asked as he stepped around the piles of clothes and homework and candy wrappers so that he could close the door behind him. 

Nico rolled onto his back and held his arms out in invitation. “C’mere.”

Will continued carefully into the room and kicked his shoes off once he reached the bed. He laid down and was immediately wrapped up in Nico’s arms. “I thought I was here to clean, not cuddle.”

“Shh, it’s better this way,” Nico whispered. “Maybe a nap first, and then cleaning. Or just the nap.”

“Hey, wait,” Will said, pulling back slightly much to Nico’s displeasure. “I gotta tell you something.”

“Make it quick,” Nico grumbled.

“My roommate moved out.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re saying we’re napping in my room where my roommate could walk in at any time, when we could be in  _ your _ room that nobody else lives in?”

Will grinned. “I’m  _ saying  _ you should talk to the resident association and file for a room change.”

Nico’s eyes widened. “You...want to move in together?”

Will pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Of course I wanna live with you, babe. I like you, like,  _ a lot.” _

Nico bit his lip. “I want to, but I don’t think they allow room changes at this point in the semester.”

Will hummed and frowned. “You’re right, I didn’t think of that. Maybe we can move in together at the start of the next semester, but that’s almost two months away.”

Nico huffed. “Well, now that you’ve gotten the idea in my head, I don’t want to live without you. Maybe I’ll just sneak into your room every night and move in gradually or something.”

“Or we could look off-campus.”

“Like, an apartment?” 

“Like, an apartment.”

“Oh.”

Will pressed his forehead to Nico’s. “Is that a good  _ oh?” _

Nico smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

 

Eventually, Nico did have to clean for two reasons. The first and more pressing was the final exam he had to prepare for, and the study guide was somewhere in the mess of papers on the ground. The second and more exciting was that he had to get his stuff together so that he could load it all into Will’s car and take it to their new apartment when they got around to renting one. They’d been looking for apartments together and had toured a few nearby, but had yet to settle on one.

They were taking a study break in Will’s apartment one evening an Will was trying to figure out what they should do for dinner while Nico was catching up on groupchat texts. 

“Percy said he wants to start a polyamorous relationship with me, Leo, and Jason,” Nico informed Will, who immediately shot off an argument. 

For a few moments, Nico and Will argued with each other for all eyes to see, until Nico sent one text to break the others’ silence. 

_ FROM: GhostKing; sorry that I only like the taste of mcdonalds and you _

“You’re gross,” Will told him, and Nico blew a kiss back from across the room. 

“Ooh, speaking of, can we get McDonalds?” Nico asked.

Will simply rolled his eyes and turned back to his phone. 

“I’m getting McDonalds on Postmates unless you stop me right now,” Nico told him, and Will jumped to his feet with a groan.

“Ugh, fine, let’s go to the cafeteria.” 

“Gross,” Nico replied.

“Shut up, we’re compromising.”

 

They decided on an apartment together later that night, then scheduled a tour, then met with the owner to discuss rental terms. All the while they managed to keep their plans secret from their friends, though not for too much longer.

They were sitting on Will’s bed, Will with his back to the wall and Nico with his back to Will’s chest as he sat between Will’s legs, and Will was  _ trying _ to make their new housing announcement.

“You’re not helping,” Will said into the top of Nico’s head as he read the groupchat texts. “Why must you make jokes about our non-existent sex lives?”

“It’s funny,” Nico replied immediately, and then after a few more seconds, “and maybe if I keep joking about it, something will actually happen.”

Will dipped his head down to press his lips to the side of Nico’s neck. “Oh, you think so, huh? And you just assume I would top?”

“Well, I’m definitely a bottom, so I’d say so, yeah.”

Will turned his attention back to his phone, glad that Nico couldn’t see the embarrassed flush on his face. His phone buzzed in his hand and he read the texts as they continued to appear.

“Aw, you think I’m perfect?” Will asked. 

Nico rolled his eyes - Will could tell without even looking at him. “Yeah, and you’re humble, too.”

_ FROM: GhostKing; except for his ego which is as big as percys _

_ FROM: Wisegirl; no one’s ego is as big as Percy’s _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and make sure to read loading message by solange-lol!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got all that good stuff from loading message chapter 5!! go read it and then come back here for this and enjoy!!

Will was making breakfast as a way to brighten up their first day of classes for the new semester when he heard a banging sound coming from their bedroom, followed by a shouted, “Ow!”

“You okay, babe?” Will called back, though he didn’t take his eyes off the stove. He could only cook scrambled eggs, and even that was pretty iffy - he was sure that if he looked away for even a second, they would burn. 

He heard stomping coming toward him until he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. Will tried his best not to dislodge Nico as he plated the eggs.

Will spun around in his boyfriend’s arms and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He tilted his head back to see Nico glaring up at him. “What’s with the death glare?” Will asked.

“I’m not glaring,” Nico said, and relaxed his eyes, though in just a few seconds he was squinting again. He groaned and knocked his head against Will’s collarbone. “I can’t see.”

“What do you mean you can’t see?” Will asked as he tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

“I ran out of contacts.”

“Oh. You wear contacts?” Nico nodded against his chest. “Don’t you have glasses for emergencies?”

Nico groaned. “I  _ hate _ them. They make me look like I’m fourteen.”

“I bet you look cute with them on. Go grab them and come back for your eggs before they get cold.”

Nico tightened his hold on Will. “No, you can’t see them! Nobody can see me with glasses, I’ll get kicked out of college because people will think I’m a child, and you’ll break up with me because you’ll forget I’m an adult.”

“Babe,  _ please,” _ Will told him with a laugh. “I promise, I won’t break up with you, and you’re gonna just going to give yourself a headache if you keep squinting like that. Go get your glasses.”

Nico groaned again.  _ “Fine.” _ He pulled himself away from Will and started back toward their bedroom, placing his hands on the walls to direct himself as he went. 

Will took their plates to the table and poured a cup of coffee for each of them before Nico returned. He was right about his glasses making him look younger, but they also made him look  _ so adorable. _

Will propped his chin up on his hand as he smiled at Nico from his seat at the table.  _ “Babe.” _

“Don’t make fun of me,” Nico told him as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“You look  _ so cute!” _

Nico sat down across from him and glared. “Don’t tell  _ anybody, _ okay? I swear, I’ll kill you in your sleep if anybody finds out.”

“How could a boy as cute as you even hurt a fly?” Will teased.

Nico pointed at Will with his fork. “Don’t test me.”

 

At the end of their first week of classes, Nico decided to make a grocery run to cook a sort of celebratory dinner for him and Will. Instead, when he got to the store, he found sales on ice cream and candy and just about everything one would need for an ice cream sundae bar. So instead of buying “real food” as Will would call it, Nico bought a shopping cart full of ice cream.

He barely managed to stuff everything into the freezer when he got back home, and eventually went into the bathroom to discover that Will must have used his dry shampoo and left it out on the counter. He drew his phone out of his pocket, about to text Will, when he saw a bunch of groupchat notifications instead. 

_ FROM: GhostKing; i come back from the store to discover that will has outed me about my poor vision and also stolen my dry hair shampoo _

_ FROM: GhostKing; also i have 5 gallons of ice cream _

He texted out an invitation for a movie night before he cleaned up the bathroom, and then caught up on the new flood of texts he’d received - mostly confirmations for the movie night, and one request for cookies from his sister.

He was about to leave the bathroom when something in the sink caught his eye. He brought his phone out once more.

_ FROM: GhostKing; will _

_ FROM: GhostKing; babe _

_ FROM: GhostKing; love of my life _

_ FROM: GhostKing; why the hell is there a piece of corn in the sink _

He leaned against the counter as he waited for a response from his boyfriend, though instead of receiving the answer he was hoping for, he got a somewhat alarming text from Piper.

_ FROM: PippyMclean; give us the solangelo we all deserve _

“What the hell is that?” he said aloud, and then typed it again into the groupchat. 

Nico finally left the bathroom as he kept his eyes on his phone, now waiting for two responses, though neither answer he received were very satisfying.

He decided to head into the kitchen to start on lunch, figuring he could have something cooked by the time Will got back from class. However, when he opened the pantry to check his options, he didn’t find much inside. Maybe he should’ve bought some real food after all.

 

Will had a short break for lunch between classes - during which he ate lunch with Nico and threw out the piece of corn that had somehow found its way into the sink - and then came home for good about an hour before their friends were supposed to arrive for their movie night. 

As soon as Will walked into their apartment, he dropped his backpack on the couch in exchange for Nico, who he dragged to his feet and started pulling him toward their bedroom. He drew Nico in close, wrapping his arms around his waist, and pressed their lips together. “I missed you,” Will told him.

“You just saw me a few hours ago,” Nico reminded him, though he still climbed onto Will’s lap when he sat down on the edge of their bed.

“Feels like it’s been weeks.” Will kissed him again and again and fell back on the bed until Nico was laying on top of him. Will slipped one hand up the back of Nico’s shirt and tugged it up until Nico got the hint and pulled it off. 

Will flipped their positions until Nico was laying on his back and Will was hovering over him until he lowered himself to trail kisses down Nico’s chest. 

Nico tugged at Will’s hair, though Will bit down on Nico’s collarbone instead of pulling away.  _ “Will. _ I have to make cookies.”

“No, pay attention to me.” He licked up the side of Nico’s neck before biting down once again, though this time he was fixated on the one spot. 

“Will,” Nico tried again. “You’re gonna leave a mark if you’re not careful. And people are gonna be here soon!”

Will only hummed in response, though he finally pulled away when Nico tugged on his hair again. He looked down at the red mark forming on Nico’s skin and said, “Oh. Um. Oops?”

Nico held Will’s face between his hands as Will set his chin on Nico’s chest. “What’s up with you? Why are you so clingy today?”

Will pouted. “I dunno, I just missed you. We spent all that time together over break, but I felt like I haven’t seen you at all since classes started again.”

Nico kissed his forehead. “I’ve missed you too. I promise that after tonight, I’ll spend the whole weekend with you and only you, okay? But for now you gotta let me up so I can make cookies.”

“Fine.”

 

Nico sat in Will’s lap in the armchair in their living room, and their friends were spread out across the couch and floor. Every plate and bowl in their apartment had been used for ice cream, and were left strewn across the living room as the group watched  _ Tangled. _

Nico could hear Will sniffling in his ear as Rapunzel and Flynn started to sing  _ At Last I See the Light, _ though Nico had gotten distracted by his phone buzzing in his lap. He tried to sneak a glance at it, knowing that Will would get mad if he interrupted his favorite part of the movie, and saw a text from Piper. 

_ FROM: PippyMclean; i just wanted to say nice hickey _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short one but heres some halloween bits from loading message!!

_ TO: PippyMclean; meet at 8 at reynas dont tell jason bring 2 rolls of TP _

Nico had been having a great Halloween when Will had still been laying in bed with him. He’d somehow tricked Will into cuddling and lazily making out with him until noon, when Will decided he had to  _ get up _ and  _ pee _ and  _ eat _ and  _ other lame stuff. _ Nico had powered through until that evening when Will started  _ publicly shaming him _ over text and then physically dragged Nico out of bed.

Even worse, Will had confiscated the two rolls of toilet paper that Nico tried to sneak out of the apartment, claiming that he wouldn’t let his boyfriend commit vandalism - “Besides, it wouldn’t be very  _ angel-like _ of you.”

That was the other thing. For their couple’s costume, they were going as an angel and the devil, but  _ Nico _ had to be the angel. And  _ no, _ no matter how many times Will told him the halo was cute, it was  _ not. _

The Stoll’s house had already been TPed by the time they got there, and as soon as they stepped inside, Nico went straight for the bar (or the kitchen island, where the alcohol was on display). He may have only been twenty, but nobody carded at house parties, which meant that he would be able to drink as much as he wanted on the five-dollar cover - as much as Will would let him, anyway. Twenty-two years old, and he didn’t even abuse his ability to legally drink alcohol, it was shameful.

Nico had always hated parties, would always hate parties, and could only get through a party if he was wasted, so he downed a few shots before Will could stop him and stood in the least-crowded corner of the room until he felt the buzz starting to kick in.

They wandered around the party for a few hours. They hung out with Reyna for a little while, chatted with Hazel and Frank for a few minutes before they disappeared, walked past a couple making out against a wall that looked  _ suspiciously _ like Jason and Percy, until they found themselves lingering near Annabeth.

It wasn’t long, of course, before Nico got bored of standing around and pulled Will into a corner to make out. He was always so much more confident when he was drunk, and didn’t seem to notice or care how many people were around to see them together. Will thought he might’ve seen a few camera flashes going off that were pointed in their direction, but then Nico’s tongue was in his mouth and he stopped paying attention to anything else.

At some point, somebody bumped into Will and invited them to play spin the bottle, but before he could answer, Nico said, “Let’s find a closet and play seven minutes in heaven instead.” Will nodded eagerly as Nico led him into the nearest closet and leapt into his arms, wrapping his arms and legs around him and nearly knocking Will off his feet. 

 

_ FROM: BlondeJesus; try and fInd ncio and wll _

Piper grinned as she read the text, then opened up her camera as she stepped toward the closet she’d seen Nico and Will head into. They’d left the door wide open, and Will had Nico pressed against one wall with his legs around Will’s waist. Nico’s hands were in Will’s hair and his devil-horn headband was nowhere to be found, though Nico’s halo was still proudly and ironically placed on his head. 

Piper snapped a picture just as Will grabbed a handful of Nico’s ass, and she had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. They were going to  _ hate _ finding  _ that _ image in the groupchat in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! now go read loading message by liz solange-lol


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think ive run out of ideas after this but what a good writing exercise this was!! enjoy

Will walked into the bedroom to wake Nico up, only to see that he was already awake and scrolling through his phone.

“Oh, so you’re awake and just choosing to not help me clean,” Will said. 

“When you’re a doctor, are you gonna be, like, my sugar daddy?” Nico asked.

Will allowed himself a few extra seconds to process the words before he said,  _ “What?” _

“I’m looking back at texts from yesterday, and remember how Leo was talking about getting a sugar daddy?” Nico reminded him. “Well, you’re gonna be my sugar daddy after you become a doctor and start making the big bucks.”

“I think you have a misunderstanding of our relationship.” Will walked into the room and took Nico’s phone out of his hand before laying down beside him. “I’m not paying you for sexual favors - you’d really be slacking, if that were true - and I’m not going to  _ start _ doing that once I have the money to. I like you for  _ you, _ babe.” He drew Nico in for a chaste kiss, and Nico rolled his eyes when he pulled back.

“You really can’t take a joke, can you?” He asked, though Will could see the red tint on his cheeks, which was his tell for when things were getting too emotional.

“Just letting you know how much I care about you,” Will told him proudly, and rolled back off the bed and onto his feet. “Now, get up and come help me clean.”

 

_ “The Solangelo Household, _ is that really what they’re calling it now?” Nico complained as he dropped onto the couch and into Will’s awaiting arms. Their friends were due to start arriving any minute, and Hazel had somehow gotten drunk off her ass which had gotten Nico’s nerves up. 

Will pressed a kiss to the side of Nico’s head. “I think it’s cute.”

“You would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

A knock sounded on the door before their bickering could pick up speed.

For the next hour, the apartment gradually filled up with people, though Frank and Hazel were still nowhere to be found. A few times, Nico had tried to sneak out to make sure they were alright, but he’d been stopped every time.

“What if they can’t make it at all?” Nico asked, tapping his foot on the ground. “That’s not fair to Frank, he should still get to be here even if Hazel can’t. Maybe I should go switch places with him, right?” He turned to Will, expecting approval for showing compassion for once, but Will shook his head.

“You’re not leaving your own party,” Will told him. “And Hazel’s probably fine. People get drunk, you know that. Just relax, they’ll be here soon enough.”

“But maybe she’s  _ not _ fine,” Nico argue, and stood up, ready to leave, but in a flash there were arms around his waist and pulling him back, down into Will’s lap. “Will-- Let me  _ go!” _

“Nope, you’re not going anywhere.” He kissed the side of Nico’s head and kept a strong hold on his waist, even as Nico tried to wiggle his way out of Will’s grasp. “Hazel’s fine.” He turned toward Annabeth. “Right, Annabeth? They’re fine, and they’ll be here soon.”

“Yeah, probably,” she answered. “I’ll text Frank and ask.” After another few moments of Nico trying to free himself from Will’s hold, Annabeth said, “They’re on their way.”

Nico sighed in relief and relaxed on Will’s lap. “Great. Can you let go of me now?”

“Absolutely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and go read the OG!


	7. Chapter 7

Nico had tried to warn Will that he  _ didn’t _ want to come home with him for Easter, but Will insisted that he couldn’t turn down an invitation from Nico’s father. So the next thing he knew, he was sitting on a plane between Will and Hazel with Jason across the aisle from them. He’d popped a couple of xanax before getting on the plane, so as soon as they’d boarded, Nico passed out on Will’s shoulder for the duration of the flight.

When they landed, Nico was surprised to see that Hades had come to pick them up from the airport himself, which meant that Nico wasn’t able to give Will one last briefing on how annoying his dad was on the car ride, but apparently Will hadn’t needed it. He’d walked straight up to Hades, shook his hand, and introduced himself without any hesitation or weakness, which made Nico think that maybe Hazel had done some briefing on the flight. 

Luckily, their flight landed late enough that Nico’s parents were heading to bed shortly after the group arrived, meaning that Nico wouldn’t have to suffer through any embarrassment until morning. Tomorrow morning.  _ Easter _ morning. Which meant that they all had to wake up early for  _ church. _

Persephone - that  _ evil woman _ \- had informed the church that Nico would be available to serve that morning, meaning that Nico had to dress in white robes and get dropped off at the nearest Catholic church a few hours before the first Mass. He had brushed his hair and wore his glasses in the hopes that he wouldn’t be so easily recognized, but those hopes were dashed almost immediately after he walked through the door. That’s what he gets for attending the same church for his entire life, he supposed.

Of course, things could always get worse. Like when his family - plus Will and Jason - arrived at the 11am Mass, and Will started laughing every time he laid eyes on Nico. Yeah. Not fun for Nico at all.

 

After Mass, and after brunch, they all returned to Nico’s childhood home, where his friends  _ refused _ to explain just  _ what _ was so funny during Mass.

“Jason kept whispering in my ear the whole time,” Will explained.

Nico glared at his friend. “It was those song parodies again, wasn’t it?”

Jason grinned at him from across the room. “I’ll never tell.”

“This is  _ three years _ in a row now!” Nico groaned, and plopped himself onto his boyfriend’s lap. “Babe, you’ll tell me the dumb songs, right?”

“Aw, you know I can’t do that,” Will replied sweetly.  
“Come _on!_ Even Hazel knows!”

“Huh?” Hazel looked up from her phone, across the room where she was sitting in an armchair. 

“What are you doing?” Nico asked.

“Texting,” she answered.  _ “Totally _ not making fun of you in the group chat or anything.”

Nico groaned, and the three boys whipped their phones out to join in on the fun. 

 

* * *

 

Thankfully, the stay with Nico’s parents didn’t last much longer, and before they knew it, the group was back in the airport, waiting to board their flight. Rather than waiting at the gate, the four of them wandered around the food court and to some of those overpriced stores.

While Jason was buying a Gatorade that was five times the price of what it would be at a regular store, Will watched as a little boy, probably no more than four years old, picked up a pack of gum from the shelf and pocketed it. 

“Nico, did you see that?” Will whispered into his boyfriend’s ear.

“No, what?” Nico replied, pretending that he wasn’t just reading the cover of some celebrity gossip magazine. 

“That little kid is stealing a pack of gum. We gotta tell his mom. Which one do you think she is?”

Will started scanning the tiny store, but Nico tugged on his arm to keep him from approaching anyone. “No way, Will, that’s none of our business!”

Hazel materialized behind them. “What’s going on?”

“That kid is  _ stealing!” _

Hazel snorted. “So? If he can get away with it, let him.”

Will gasped. “I expected this from your brother, but  _ you, _ Hazel?”

“Which one is he? Point him out to me,” Hazel told him. When Will pointed him out, Hazel laughed. “Will, he’s just a baby! Leave him be!”

“I can’t believe this,” Will said with a huff, and started toward the little boy as if he were going to scold the kid himself. 

Nico jumped on Will’s back, causing him to stagger and nearly fall over. 

“Nico! Get off of me!” Will exclaimed, grabbing Nico’s legs to hold him up despite his words. He called across the store, “Jason! Back me up here!”

Jason already had his phone out, and seemed like he was snapping a picture of the two of them. When he lowered his phone, Will could see tears in his eyes from the force of his laughter. 

“Jason!” Nico shouted. “Buy your Gatorade so we can get out of here before Will does something stupid!”

Will stomped out of the store with Nico riding on his back, following after Hazel who had started narrating the adventures of the little gum-stealer. 

Nico leaned forward and kissed Will’s cheek. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy auctober!! here we are again with another message received, hope you like it!

All Nico wanted was to watch  _ Glee _ in peace, but  _ no, _ his dumb boyfriend just  _ had _ to share his dumb story with its dumb plot and dumb moral. He could barely even hear the TV over the sound of Will’s thumbs tapping away at his phone.

“I can’t believe you’re going to make me read that story with my own eyes,” Nico grumbled, giving up his fight to rip Will’s phone from his hand. Will was now stretched out across the couch, laying on his stomach with his arms outstretched as he typed out text after text, and Nico had settled himself on top of his boyfriend. “Hearing it out of your mouth was bad enough.”

“Love you too, babe,” Will replied, his typing unceasing. 

As much as Nico wanted to focus on  _ Glee _ and throw his phone into the garbage disposal, he opened up the group chat to keep his phone from buzzing up a storm. And so that he could maybe distract everyone so that they stopped asking about that stupid story. 

As he glanced down at the screen in his hand, he saw a text from his boyfriend that said,  _ crayon??? Like the way its spelled?? Who says “cran”, _ and Nico jabbed a finger into Will’s side. 

“You asshole, you  _ know _ I say  _ cran!” _ Nico exclaimed.

“Irrelevant,” Will replied, and Nico received a text that said the same thing.

Nico huffed and returned his focus to the TV. After a moment, he said, “If you loved me, you wouldn’t tell that dumb story.”

“If  _ you _ loved  _ me, _ you would let me torture our friends,” Will shot back.

“...Touche.” Nico counted ten new texts. “If you really want to torture them, you should keep changing the kid’s name. That’ll piss somebody off, I’m sure of it.”

Another few texts later, and Will was laughing so hard that his entire body was shaking, nearly knocking Nico off of his back. With a sigh, Nico got off of his boyfriend. “Get up, I can’t live like this.” Will rolled himself off of the couch and waited until Nico settled onto the cushions, then Will draped himself over his boyfriend. 

As Nico sat down, he looked at his phone.

_From: Squilliam; it gets better_ _  
_ Nico hurried to type: _it does not_

“I feel like you’re dragging this on much longer than you did on the plane,” Nico pointed out. 

“Nah, it just takes longer to type than to talk.”

“You also could’ve just typed it all out in one big block instead of quadruple texting like a heathen.”

“Don’t worry, I’m almost at the end.”

“Thank god, then I won’t have to hear about it from anyone else ever again.”

“You know you love my stories, babe.” Nico watched as Will typed out his last message, the moral of the story, and then dropped his phone onto his stomach with a satisfied smile on his face. “I’m done now, and they’re pissed at me,” he said cheerily. 

“They ought to be,” Nico replied. He pulled up the group chat once again, scrolling through a handful of keysmashes and pissed off responses, offering nothing more than a simple,  _ I did warn you. _

Nico ran a hand through Will’s hair. “Leo wants me to beat you up.”

Will pouted up at him. “Please don’t.”

Nico typed,  _ consider it done, _ and saw Will’s frowny face in response before Will launched himself off the couch. “Hey, get back here!” Nico jumped to his feet and ran after his boyfriend. 

“No way!”

“I have to beat you up now!” Nico jumped over the back of the couch as Will ran around it, and Will narrowly slipped out of Nico’s grasp.

“You’ll never catch me!” 

“At least let me put you in a headlock!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! don't forget to read liz's original loading message, which this is based off of! and check out solangeloweek on tumblr for more auctober stuff!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading and be sure to read liz's loading message!!!


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